Monster Video: How Job Requirements Can Sabotage Hiring

Do you know what you’re looking for when recruiting new hires? Are your requirements and job skills set in stone?

In this Monster video, Roberta Matuson advises that you first identify the traits that are a value to your organization -- and remain flexible when formulating your job requirements.

Roberta Matuson is the author of the international bestseller, Suddenly in Charge: Managing Up, Managing Down, Succeeding All Around (Nicholas Brealey, 2011) and the forthcoming book, The Magnetic Workplace (Nicholas Brealey, 2013). She is president of Human Resource Solutions, which helps organizations create exceptional workplaces that deliver extraordinary results.

Small Business Webinar

Every company, no matter the size, has an employment brand. Roberta Matuson shares valuable insights in a free webinar, Four Steps to a Successful Employment Brand, that will help your business attract top talent.

I hear a lot from my clients that they can’t seem to find the right candidate. Yet, when you pick up the newspaper, all you read about is the tremendous amount of talent that is out there.

I think that part of the problem is for my clients that they may be overwhelmed by what is available. I suggest that you begin with clearly identifying what it is that you’re looking for.

I see a lot of job postings that say 3 to 10 years of experience. What if instead you narrowed that down and said 7 to 10 years? That would certainly give you a better pool of candidates and a more targeted approach and increase your likelihood of hiring the right person.

You also need to identify what the right fit is for your business. What a law firm might look for would be very different than what you, as a small business owner, might look for. So I would encourage you to identify the traits that are a value to your organization. So that when someone is in front of you, you’ll know when you see it.

And lastly, I would be open to the possibilities that there are candidates out there that may not exactly look like what I thought they would. And by that I mean, there are lots of really great experienced people today that don’t necessarily fit the mold.

When you’re recruiting, it’s so important that you know what you’re looking for, so make sure that you clearly define what that is. And don’t forget, the people that you thought you could no longer afford to hire, well that may no longer be the case.